


An Apple a Day

by Writer_Geekgirl



Series: Castiel and Dean: A Love Story [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, Post-Season/Series 12
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-04
Updated: 2017-10-04
Packaged: 2019-01-08 22:12:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12263094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writer_Geekgirl/pseuds/Writer_Geekgirl
Summary: Friggin' witches. Dean really hates it when they have to go up against friggin' witches.





	An Apple a Day

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written in response to the prompt word poison.

The witch had struck again -- the third mysterious death in a week. Several murders had happened the previous year in the small town of Boothbay Harbor, nestled on the coastline of Maine. Those murders had not caught the attention of Sam and Dean Winchester because, although they were a higher density than normal for a small town, they weren't on the surface supernatural. Three of the deaths involved handguns, two were hit and run accidents, and one was a woman found entangled in fishing nets floating in the bay. Then, everything went quiet for a year. 

The deaths this week were much more striking. A banker had died in his office where he was found with a literal frog in his throat. A realtor was found mauled by a wolf in the nature preserve despite no wolves being in the area in generations. And, finally, this morning, right as the boys and their angel, Castiel, drove into town in their classic Chevy Impala, the owner of a bed and breakfast spontaneously combusted in the common area in front of the town hall.

Dean parked the Impala. The trio got out of the car to question witnesses and the authorities. They didn't get much useful information. They drove to the latest victim's business.

Dean flashed his badge at the person working at the counter and asked to see the victim's office. Sam searched for hex bags, while Dean started rummaging through the man's desk. Castiel walked over and opened a closet. Inside was an altar with incense and an assortment of bones and plants littering the shelf. "Sam, Dean, look at this."

A picture of a young blonde woman with an x crossing her face was on the shrine. A picture of brunette sat on the shelf next to the altar.

"Hey, that's one of the girls we interviewed at Hot and Crispy's death." Dean exclaimed pointing at the blonde.

Sam took out his notebook and flipped through it. "Janie, Janie Rogers."

"I'm thinking she's our next vic. Maybe she knows who this other chick is."

They returned to the Impala. Sam pulled out his tablet and looked for the address for Janie. The team went to Janie's house.

After arriving, Dean knocked on the door with his badge pulled out.

Janie answered the door. She was wearing shorts and a tank top with her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. "Oh, Agents? More questions?" She looked between the men.

Dean started, "Ms. Rogers. We believe your life to be in danger. What was your relationship with the deceased?"

"I'm new in town. I don't really have a relationship with anyone here, yet. I stayed at his inn for a couple of nights when I first got here and then I rented this apartment."

"Do you recognize these people?" Sam asked pulling out the pictures of the first two victims. Janie answered, "That's the banker who helped me set up my account and the other is the person who rented me the apartment. They both died this week." She looked at Dean, her bottom lip trembling. "Am I next?"

Dean frowned at Sam. Janie appeared to be connected to everyone. Castiel pulled out the other picture they had found at the altar. "Do you recognize this woman?"

Janie looked at the picture. "That's the woman who has an antique shop in town. She's kind of spooky and talks to herself a lot. Her shop always seems so cold and it smells sort of funny too. Kind of like a strong incense. She freaks me out a little. Her name is Elena Monrose."

Dean looked at Castiel. "Cas, why don't you stay and protect Janie while Sam and I go figure out the deal with the Elena chick."

Castiel nodded. Dean looked at Janie. "We think the person who killed the others has you as the next target. Cas, here, is an excellent bodyguard and will take care of you while we figure out who is behind everything."

Janie nodded looking scared. Castiel awkwardly patted her on the back. "Everything will be okay."

Sam and Dean headed out and drove to the antique shop. Dean could see Elena was behind the counter through the window. The shop appeared to be empty besides for her. The brunette was cleaning off the counter and seemed to be closing for the evening.

Dean pulled his gun out and walked quietly into the antique store with it behind his back. Sam followed closely on his heels.

"Mrs. Monrose. I'm Agent Palmer and this Agent Lake. We have a few questions about you. Do you know a Janie Rogers?"

The woman froze. "She's going to kill me. She's already killed the other witches in our coven. I'm next. Please, agents, I know this sounds weird but she's a witch. A powerful witch. Me and my friends practiced light magic, not the dark arts. But she is a sorceress."

Dean looked at her thoughtfully. "Why would Ms. Rogers want to harm you?"

Elena sighed. "Last year, one of our coven members, Camille Walker, went rogue. She killed seven people, including Janie's sister. Camille was starting to dabble in the dark arts, which is strictly forbidden in our coven. It did something to her, she became sociopathic. She wasn't like that at first, but it was like what she was doing unleashed something inside of her. We…dealt with her so she couldn't harm anyone else. Last week, Rogers comes into town and starts to ask questions. And suddenly Randolph dies with the frog in his throat. She's targeting our coven members. She's bent on revenge. I'm the last member. I know this probably sounds farfetched to you, but it's the truth."

Dean gave her a scrutinizing look. "Sam, a moment."

The Winchesters walked a few feet away out of ear shot. "What do you think?"

Sam looked concerned. "I think she is telling the truth. There was nothing sinister about the altar of the last victim."

"Which means…"

"That we left Castiel with the evil witch." Sam finished the thought.

Dean looked at Elena. "We're going to go question Ms. Rogers to get to the bottom of this. Don't leave town. We'll be back."

Dean and Sam rushed to the door to leave.

Back at Janie's house, Castiel walked around Janie's kitchen. There were dried plants everywhere. He looked quizzically at some of them, wondering why she would have dried plants from around the world. They weren't for cooking. "You have a very interesting assortment of vegetation? Can I ask you what you use it for?"

"I do floral arrangements. I use these as filler backdrops for the flowers."

Castiel nodded but noticed a mandrake root on an upper shelf. He wondered for a moment why she would use mandrake root in a floral arrangement. Castiel turned to start to ask her. 

Janie cleared her throat and looked at Castiel nervously. "Are you hungry? I bet you are hungry. I could make you a sandwich, toast, or give you an apple?" She looked on the verge of hysteria.

Castiel really didn't enjoy eating because of the taste of molecules, but she looked like she was going to pass out. Perhaps, she would be calmer if he let her do something for him.

"An apple would be appreciated." 

Janie gave him a wide smile and offered the apple. Castiel gave her a reassuring smile, and bit into it. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment, and then collapsed into a deep sleep.

Sam burst through the door a moment later. Janie glared at him, and made a motion with her hand, slamming him into the wall. Dean ran through the door with a gun pointed at the witch. 

"Stand back or I'll kill him," she growled at Dean. Dean started to point the gun slowly down.

She twisted her hand and Sam started to choke. Blood started dribbling out the corner of his mouth. Dean roared at her to stop, but she started to make a sudden snap of her wrist. Dean pointed the gun at the witch and pulled the trigger. Janie crumpled to the floor. Sam let out a gasp and collapsed to his knees. He breathed in huge gulps of air.

Dean's eyes landed on Castiel's still form. The apple still clutched in his hand. Dean rushed to the angel's side and squatted next to him. Dean was relieved to feel a pulse when he placed two fingertips below Castiel's ear. He shook Castiel's shoulder gently. "Cas, wake up." Dean frowned when Castiel didn’t stir. 

"What's wrong with him, Dean?" Sam asked in a husky voice, his throat still hurting from choking.

Dean pulled the apple out of Castiel's hand. The bite Castiel had taken out of the apple was evident. Dean sniffed the apple. He detected an unusual, unappley scent. "Sam, I think she gave him a poisoned apple. Regular poison shouldn't do this to an angel."

Sam crawled to Castiel. He pulled Castiel jaw open, and scooped the remaining pieces of apple from Castiel's mouth and wiped his hands on his jeans. They could hear sirens in the distance. "Dean, take the apple and any magic ingredients and things while I get Cas to the car." Sam stood up, pulling Castiel into his arms and started manhandling him to the door. Dean grabbed everything he could find that looked even remotely looked witchy, jumped in the car, and drove off quickly.

Dean kept looking over his shoulder at Castiel in the back seat. Castiel was so still. Dean had to resist the urge to pull over and check on him, because he knew they needed to put some distance between them and the police. Dean glanced over Sam who had a frown on his face staring at the tablet. Sam kept typing, but the frowning just increased.

"Anything, Sam?"

Sam looked nervously at Dean, "Every place that I search for poisoned apples in lore, I wind up with it being cured by true love's first kiss. "

"Like Snow White? That's no help. The closest he ever game to caring about someone was Meg and she's long dead."

Sam gave Dean a sideways look with narrowed eyes, like he was going to say something. Sam looked away. "I'll keep researching."

Dean drove down I84 and merged over onto I80, driving until they reached the outskirts of Syracuse, New York. There Dean pulled into the first budget motel he could find. After getting a room, Sam helped Dean move Castiel into one of the beds in the room. Castiel was warm and had a strong pulse, but he was still completely comatose.

"Did you find anything else, Sam? Anything?"

Sam shook his head. "Maybe, if we wait long enough, he'll just wake up on his own?"

Dean snorted, "We never have that type of luck." Dean pulled out the duffel bag with all the dried plants he had retrieved from the witch's house. "Take a look at these, Sam, while I go get us some food."

Dean stepped out of the hotel room and took a deep breath. He shuddered as he remembered the way Castiel had looked motionless when he had been stabbed by Lucifer the previous year. It had been a long, hard journey to get the three of them back to this point, where they could just hunt monsters and pretend life was normal. He had promised himself he would tell Castiel how he really felt if Castiel returned after being killed by Lucifer. However, like most promises Dean had made himself where emotions were involved, he failed to do it. Dean focused on the ground for a moment, wondering yet again if he'd missed his chance. He sighed and headed towards the Impala.

When Dean returned with hamburgers and beer, Sam was in the bathroom taking a shower. Dean noted that Sam had put a sticky note on each plant identifying it and had set up a search algorithm on the computer looking for spells that the combinations of these ingredients could produce. Dean sighed. There were dozens of combinations there, and even if they found spells that matched the likelihood of them being the right spell could be small. Dean opened a bottle of beer and took a drink.

He eyed Castiel lying serenely on the bed. Dean glanced at the door of the bathroom and then glanced at Castiel again. He walked closer and sat on the edge of the bed. Dean listened to make sure the water was still running, and then reached gingerly down and kissed Castiel on the lips. Castiel tasted vaguely of cinnamon and peppermint. He ran his fingers through Castiel's hair for a moment and stroked the side of his face. After a moment, he sat upright, looking down. Castiel didn't stir. Dean gave an exasperated sigh. He had known it was nonsense. He picked up the beer bottle he had opened and threw it against the wall. The glass shattered with a loud noise.

"Hello, Dean."

Dean turned around and Castiel was groggily looking up at him. "What, where are we? Janie is the witch."

"Cas!" Dean leaned over and pulled Castiel up, hugging him. "Never do that again!"

"Do what?"

"You ate the apple the chick gave you and it put you asleep. Angels should know better than taking apples. The whole Adam, Eve, and Satan debacle."

Castiel raised an eyebrow, "That was actually a quince."

Sam opened the door that moment with a towel wrapped around his waist, shampoo still dripping down his hair. "What was that noise? Dean? Cas, you're awake!"

"Told you, Sammy, he'd wake up on his own."

Sam gave Dean a bitchy look. "I told you that might happen. You said we never get that type of luck."

Castiel looked between Dean and Sam. He looked again at Dean confused. "I appear to be fine, Sam. I am sorry to cause you any concern again."

Sam said, "I’m just thrilled you are awake, Cas. I'll go finish my shower now." He closed the door to the bathroom.

"Dean, did I dream that you… I felt you…" Castiel's voice trailed off, looking into Dean's green eyes in confusion.

Dean took a deep breath, gazing into the shimmering blue eyes of the angel. "Cas, I've been meaning to tell you…"

His cellphone suddenly rang with the ringtone reserved for Mary. "Sonovabitch." Dean knew he should take the call because his mother was hunting a wraith in Montana with Claire.

"It's Mom, Cas. I'll be right back, hold that thought." Dean answered the phone, hoping to make the conversation brief. However, his mother had discovered what they had thought was a wraith wasn't one, so she and Dean got into an involved conversation trying to figure out what it was. Finally, Mary decided out what to try next and Dean hung up the phone.

He turned to Castiel, who was now sitting on the edge of the bed, smoothing out the wrinkles in his trench coat.

"Cas, I've been meaning to tell you…"

Sam chose at that moment to come out of the bathroom. "What did Mom need?"

Dean just looked up at the ceiling, wishing the earth would swallow him whole for a moment. Castiel squinted and tilted his head to look at Dean. Dean knew this moment was lost. Maybe next time he would be brave enough.


End file.
